Bed jacket for invalid

ABSTRACT

A garment for covering the front and sides of a human invalid&#39;s torso, comprising a pliant partial wrap that is sized and dimensioned to envelop the front and sides of at least the upper portion of a human torso, said wrap having spaced apart upper and lower edges and with a longitudinally centered partial split of the wrap disposed perpendicularly to and extending to the upper edge and a pair of spaced apart sleeves attached to the wrap for covering the upper extremities of the human invalid.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a warming garment for bed or chair occupants.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Invalids and other persons with restricted movement and who are confined to a bed, chair or a wheel chair often have difficulty keeping warm when it is necessary for them to remove blankets or covers and expose their arms and upper torso to room or to an outside environment for the purpose of eating, holding a book, knitting or the like. An ordinary bed jacket or coat-like article is often an unsatisfactory solution to keeping a patient covered and warm because donning such a garment requires exertion and physical movement of which many infirm people are incapable.

[0003] Accordingly, it is the purpose of the present invention to provide a warming cover for the upper body that can easily be positioned over the front and sides of the body and slipped onto the outstretched arms of a patient by a helper without significant physical exertion by or body movement of the patient.

[0004] An additional object of the invention is to provide a easily donned warming garment for any person who is seated and does not want to or can not go through all of the motions required for putting on and wearing a traditional coat or jacket. Such persons might include airline passengers and the garment of the present invention would replace and improve on the traditional blankets that are made available to passengers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005]FIG. 1 is a frontal view of the bed jacket of the present invention, as it would appear on a person wearing the jacket with the split front in the open or unzipped condition.

[0006]FIG. 2 is rear perspective view of the jacket.

[0007]FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the neck collar of the jacket as it would appear with the split in front panel being in the closed position. A portion of the collar is folded back to illustrate the Velcro fastener that retains the two collar halves interconnected in the back of the garment.

[0008]FIG. 4 is a frontal view of the jacket.

[0009]FIG. 5 illustrates the process of putting the jacket on a patient lying in bed.

[0010]FIG. 6 illustrates the jacket being worn be a bed patient.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] While other configurations of panels and patterns could be used, the preferred form of the inventive bed jacket garment 2 comprises a front panel 4 and laterally attached side panels 6 and 8. Together, these three panels comprise the body of a loosely fitting garment, having a lower edge 10 and side edges 12 and 14. The top edge 16 of the joined panels 4, 6 and 8 defines a neckline. Pair of raglan sleeves 20 and 22 is inserted between the top portions of the respective front and side panels and extend to the neckline with slanted seams 24 and 26 from the underarm to the neck. Longitudinally centered between the lateral sides of the front panel 4 and extending downwardly from the neckline 16 is a split 28 in the panel material that is adapted to retain, on each of its sides, the respective sides of a zipper 30 or other selective fastener for opening or closing the space defining the split.

[0012] Surmounted on the neckline edge 16 of the panels are two halves 32 and 34 of a collar. The two halves are first separated along a line that is an extension of the split 28 so that the zipper 30 that interconnects the sides of the split 28 in the front panel 4 will be continuous into the collar and will interconnect the two halves thereof just above the center of the front panel. The two halves 32 and 34 have a second separation that is diametrically opposed to the first separation, that is, positioned at the back of the wearer's neck. The second separation may also have a closure or connection means so that the collar will completely encircle the neck of the wearer. The closure means for the second separation may be a pair of patches 36 and 38 of Velcro secured to the respective edges of the collar halves, or other fastening material. When the zipper 30 completely closes the split 28 and interconnects the front separation of the two collar halves 32 and 34 and the rear collar separation is also closed by the fasteners 26 and 28, the collar becomes a turtleneck, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6. If the zipper 30 does not completely interconnect the front, or first, separation of the two collar halves, the collar becomes one of open style and If the rear Velcro fasteners are also not engaged, the collar may be completely folded down over the shoulders for maximum ventilation.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 5, the garment of the present invention may be easily slipped onto the arms of an invalid so that the front and sides of the upper torso may be covered and kept warm without the invalid having to lift the torso off of or away from the surface of the bed or back of the chair in which they are positioned. The front zipper may be opened or closed at the discretion of the wearer. The side panels need not be joined or closed over the back of the wearer but may remain loosely draped over the sides of the wearer to maintain warmth. 

1.-6. (canceled).
 7. A garment for covering the front and sides of a human torso and enclosing the arms, comprising, a body for covering the front and sides of a human torso comprising a single layer of pliant material having longitudinally spaced apart top and bottom edges and spaced apart side edges, a longitudinally centered split in the body, the split having parallel sides and disposed perpendicularly to and extending downwardly from the top edge of the body, first and second turtle neck collar portions each having parallel top and bottom edges and each having side edges, where the bottom edges of each of the collar portions are attached to the top edge of the body, a pair of spaced apart raglan type sleeves attached to the body below the top edge.
 8. The garment of claim 7 and further including first closure means for joining the parallel sides of the perpendicular split and for joining the first and second collar portions along a line that is aligned with the perpendicular split.
 9. The garment of claim 8 and further including second closure means for interconnecting the first and second turtle neck portions to form a turtle neck collar around the neck of the person wearing the garment. 